TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. -- Sixty Christmas trees were stolen and a 40-foot display stand was vandalized at the site of a Boy Scouts of America fundraiser in the Burlington Coat Factory parking lot on U.S. Route 9W, a scout official said on Saturday.

Ray Braun, executive director of the scouts' Rip Van Winkle Council, said the thefts and damage occurred early Thanksgiving morning and will cost the council thousands of dollars.

"I got a call from one of our rangers around 2 a.m. Thursday," Braun said. "It looked like whoever did it wrapped a chain around the tree stands and pulled it down, then they took about 60 or so of the trees in the lot. The door on the trailer where our volunteers go to warm up also looked like someone tried to pry it open."

Braun said the loss of the stolen trees will cost the council about $3,000.

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"It cost us a few hundred dollars for lumber, too," Braun said.

"We don't have any other choice right now other than to suck up the loss," he said. "The people who did this had to have a huge truck or trailer to get away with so many trees. We have to find a way to move forward and make it work."

Braun said the Christmas tree operation was "back up and running after about 20 volunteers showed up on Friday and got everything set."

"I think we ended up selling 21 trees that day," he said.

Braun said detectives from Ulster Police Department are investigating the crime, including visiting other tree sales in the area.

Ulster Police Chief Anthony Cruise said patrols have been stepped up in the area and police hope to gain some leads by looking at footage from nearby security cameras.

Braun said he was "thankful for Ulster police stepping up their surveillance of the area, and we also have volunteers riding by at night and early in the morning to make sure it doesn't happen again."